Ubisoft and Assassin’s Creed Unity are big news right now, not because of the game itself – but rather because the game runs at 900p and 30 frames per second. Specifically, they’ve been accused of crippling the PlayStation 4 of the game so that it has parity with the weaker Xbox One. Ubisoft once again vehemently denies that, saying it was all a bit of miscommunication.
“Ubisoft does not constrain its games. We would not limit a game’s resolution. And we would never do anything to intentionally diminish anything we’ve produced or developed,” Ubisoft senior communications manager Gary Steinman said on the Ubiblog.
In fact, the whole thing was down to a poor choice of words on the part of Senior Producer Vincent Pontbriand, and he’s quick to denounce claims that Ubisoft’s crippling Assassin’s Creed Unity on PS4.
“Absolutely not,” Pontbriand says. “We’ve spent four years building the best game we could imagine. Why would we ever do anything to hold it back? I simply chose the wrong words when talking about the game’s resolution, and for that I’m sorry.”
The game’s running at 900p at 30fps, because the world is so full of detail, has incredibly large crowds and features Paris and its buildings at a previously unseen scale.
“This is something that the new hardware allows us to do,” Pontbriand says about the number of characters on screen. Of course, massive crowds are also part of the story of the French Revolution, so it was essential to the game’s setting. “We want you to feel that density, the chaos that was happening back then. Paris was a huge city, with almost a million people. So we cranked up our number of NPCs.”
So because of that, the game’s 900p on consoles. It may not remain that way forever though – as it’s not quite locked down.
“As of now, Assassin’s Creed Unity is locked at 900p. But why “stop” there? “We know a lot of gamers consider 1080p with 60 frames per second to be the gold standard, especially on the new generation of consoles,” Pontbriand says. “We realize we had also pushed for 1080p in some of our previous games, including AC4. But we made the right decision to focus our resources on delivering the best gameplay experience, and resolution is just one factor. There is a real cost to all those NPCs, to all the details in the city, to all the systems working together, and to the seamless co-op gameplay. We wanted to be absolutely uncompromising when it comes to the overall gameplay experience. Those additional pixels could only come at a cost to the gameplay.”
And that’s fine. I don;t quite buy it, but that’s at least an explanation I can deal with. Saying it was done for the purpose of making the game more cinematic however, just isn’t.
The game is on show at rAge this weekend, so you can have a look at it in all of its 30fps, 900p glory this weekend.
Last Updated: October 10, 2014
CAE9872
October 10, 2014 at 12:30
I don’t get the whole issue personally – so they “locked” it at x! If you enjoy AC franchise this is going to play well. In hindsight I think he realises he should have kept quiet rather as now internet, as usual, has imploded that the “game is being held back” which is probably rubbish; as opposed to talking about the game, its setting, mechanics, speculating what may or may not be included, etc.
I enjoyed IV and will no doubt enjoy this one when I do eventually pick it up. No AC game is day one for me personally as much as I enjoy them.
Hammersteyn
October 10, 2014 at 12:36
Me neither, what does irk me is the lies, backpedaling and twisted stories that spews forth.
Hammersteyn
October 10, 2014 at 12:33
Dear Pontbriand
http://img-9gag-lol.9cache.com/photo/aDwmY5B_460sa_v1.gif
oVg Definitive and Remastered
October 10, 2014 at 12:34
Who cares.
Shadow of Mordor is pure 1080p eye candy running at a lovely 50-60fps frame rate with far more enjoyable stealth and combat.
I spent 40hours in Mordor since its release. YES I fell down the Nemesis rabbit hole. Im on my second play and just as enraged by being killed by swarms of orcs and captains as I was the first time.
I then took a break and played Infamous. I then realised that the frame rate in Infamous is horrible after being used to Shadow of Mordor. But alas there are always two sides to the coin. Infamous has some SHIT HOT PARTICLE effects all at 1080p.
Assassins creed sounds like the same Factory work model as Watch Dogs. Just port the shit to as many machines as possible keeping the performance levels as close as possible to the lowest denominator.
Hammersteyn
October 10, 2014 at 12:38
Infamous was awesome, job well done Sucker Punch
oVg Definitive and Remastered
October 10, 2014 at 12:40
Did not get frustrated once. Traversing over mini Seattle was fun and fluid.
Those particle effects man. Still amazes me that there is no slow down after doing a Meteor drop.
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
October 10, 2014 at 13:43
Shadow of Mordor is stunning! Absolutely stunning.
FoxOneZA
October 10, 2014 at 14:00
Shadow of Mordor isn’t doing the type of AI and locations as AC:Unity. SoM does look good but the visuals, NPC’s and scope of the world isn’t as groundbreaking as Watch Dogs.
Hammersteyn
October 10, 2014 at 12:35
Of course it’s not it’s not quite locked down. Calling it now. Give it a couple of months and they will patch it. They just want to sell enough copies first.
oVg Definitive and Remastered
October 10, 2014 at 12:38
Oh it will sell like Assassins 3 and they know it.
Hammersteyn
October 10, 2014 at 12:38
hue hue hue
Admiral Chief 0
October 10, 2014 at 12:42
Ja right PoopieSoft, like I trust anything you guys say
Alien Emperor Trevor
October 10, 2014 at 12:56
Heh.
Jedi Consular Kromas
October 10, 2014 at 13:02
Just like the “hidden” PC visuals in Watch Dogs eh Ubisoft.
Go orally pleasure yourselves because I don’t want nothing from you.
GooseZA
October 10, 2014 at 13:39
The problem now is nobody will believe what they say, which is a shame. I for one would love this to be true, just so that the whiny boycott crowd can eat a piece of humble pie.
*puts on flame suit*
Sageville
October 10, 2014 at 13:55
There is a boycott crowd?
GooseZA
October 10, 2014 at 13:58
Yeah. Just search on Twitter for #PS4NoParity. People are going bananas over this 😉
*shakes head*
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
October 10, 2014 at 13:42
Can you hear that spin? Mmmmm! Spin spin me right round baby right round like a record player round round…
Sorry Ubisoft, but my wallet says “No”. It doesn’t mince words. It doesn’t try to sugar-coat it. My wallet just tells it like it is, and this time round, I agree with my wallet; I won’t be buying your game.
You won’t make money off me, but the second I see your game in a second-hand bargain bin, I’ll see what the fuss is all about.
As long as you don’t get money for your stupid business decisions the happier I will be. Now suck on a lemon!
GooseZA
October 10, 2014 at 13:44
And then you’ll love it, because it’s probably going to be a fantastic game and when you do, I hope you remember the developers who worked on the game for four years didn’t get a cent of that 2nd hand purchase.
FoxOneZA
October 10, 2014 at 13:57
And that gamers complain that console games are hitting the R800 mark. By Christmas I can already see PS4 exclusives touching R850-R900.
Brian Murphy
October 10, 2014 at 15:38
Dear Ubisoft, we have no reason to ever believe a thing you say:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jimquisition/9462-Ubisoft-A-Sad-History-of-PC-Failures
Just because you’ve shifted your bullshit to a new set of hardware is irrelevant. Welcome to the 8th gen folks, where we always strive to take a step back.